'Friday Night Lights' series finale (again): Why the show might finally get its Emmy

The long goodbye for
"Friday Night Lights" finally ended with the NBC broadcast of the series finale, "Always" -- almost perfectly timed to the announcement of the 2011 Emmy nominations.

"FNL" came out with its most mentions yet (four), earning nods for outstanding drama series, leads
Kyle Chandler and
Connie Britton and outstanding writing for this very episode. (You can read executive producer and "Always" writer
Jason Katims reaction to the news in
Zap2it's interview with the showrunner.)

Well-deserved, no? Our last look at Dillon, Texas, balanced resolution with reality, giving the series a fitting, honest and ultimately uplifting conclusion.

And for those of you who just saw it for the first time, you can read our
complete analysis of the episode as it was originally posted during the DirecTV finale in February.